Cricket is one of the most popular sports all around the world and the enthusiasm and passion of the fans can’t be described in words. The love for the game is certainly not just limited to a particular age group and Rustom  Sorabji Cooper aka Russi Copper is the proof of the fact. The Mumbai-born player became English County Club Middlesex’s oldest First-Class cricketer on Tuesday (June 16, 2020). Aged 97 years, 183 days old, Russi is still going strong and is still going strong. Prior to him, the record was held by James Gilman who took his last breath on 14th September 1976, aged 97 years, 182 days. ‘We Stand Against Racism’: England Cricket Board Shares Beautiful Message About Unity in Diversity.

As per the official website of Hornsey Cricket Club, Cooper, who was born on December 15, 1922, made his first-class debut for Middlesex way back in 1949. Scoring 36 in the maiden innings for the club, the batsman played a decent amount of matches between 1949 and 1951. Surprisingly, Cooper didn’t play a great amount of cricket as he ended his career at an astonishing First-Class average of 52.39. For Middlesex, however, Cooper wasn’t able to justify his potential with Middlesex as he averaged just 19.63 in eight matches for the club with the highest score of 54.

Apart from Middlesex, Cooper also played for Hornsey Cricket Club and that’s where he piled up a mountain of runs and bagged the legendary status. Despite being a batsman of such high authority, no one, who played alongside Cooper remembers any instance where he cleared the ropes for a six.

After retiring from cricket, Cooper continued to be an ardent lover of the gentleman’s game. Well, many players will certainly come and go in the English County. However, Cooper has certainly carved his name in the history of the game.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 16, 2020 04:46 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).